<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Moderation by Babylon (Baby_L0N)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25905982">Moderation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baby_L0N/pseuds/Babylon'>Babylon (Baby_L0N)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Paved With Good Intentions [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shall We Date?: Obey Me!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Diverges from Canon After Lesson 16, Explicit Language, Gen, Gender-Neutral Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Jealousy, Lesson 16 (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) Spoilers, Light Angst, MC is Canonically Reckless and Horny and Recklessly Horny, My Idea of a Fix-It That Turned Into a Make-It-Worse, Obsessive Behavior, Original Non-Binary Character - Freeform, Original Trans Character - Freeform, Overprotective, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Self-deprecating humor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 01:57:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25905982</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baby_L0N/pseuds/Babylon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Paymon was unhappy in this timeline. Everyone was acting weird, and no one would acknowledge what happened… Who else could they turn to but their favorite shady wizard?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Main Character &amp; Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character/Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Paved With Good Intentions [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885558</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Moderation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>please enjoy! this is my first work of fiction for a while, so I’m a little rusty. I plan on continuing to write for this in a series of one-shots, because writing a cohesive story is tough. so constructive criticism is very welcome!</p><p>my MC’s name is Paymon (you might be able to see where this is going), and they use they/them or he/his pronouns. I will probably be sticking to they/them to avoid confusion.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I never made it with moderation</p><p>No, I never understood</p><p>All the feeling was all or nothing</p><p>And I took everything I could</p><p>--- Moderation by Florence + The Machine</p><p> </p><p>Paymon sprawled across Solomon’s bed, taking up as much space as possible. They had to actively fight the way their body so easily folded in on itself. They must look ridiculous, a garden bird fluffing up its feathers in order to look too big to be eaten… But looking ridiculous has never stopped them before, and it won’t stop them now.</p><p>It was hard not to feel awkward and gangly like a preteen when they’re surrounded by college-aged men, all tall and muscular. If Solomon had noticed their fronting from his seat at his desk, he was kind enough not to say anything. Then again, he wouldn’t have been able to get in a word edgewise.</p><p>When Solomon had extended an invitation to Purgatory Hall, Paymon had jumped on the opportunity to hang out with the other, much cooler human exchange student. Once they realized this was a <em>study</em> date instead of a <em>date</em> date, they just started filling the silence.</p><p>The only time Solomon’s attention strayed from his studies was when they were complaining about their changing dynamic with the brothers. They were all acting weird, but it felt wrong to complain about one brother to another.</p><p>Even if they griped about each other to anyone that would listen, they were family. Regardless of recent events, Paymon… Wasn’t.</p><p>Diva and Barbatos were permanently on Do Not Disturb for fear of death by Luci, leaving only the residents of Purgatory Hall as sympathetic ears. And while the angels were nothing if not sympathetic, Lilith and the Celestial War seemed like sore subjects. Especially for Luke.</p><p>Paymon had grown up with boys like him, seen them in the pews and Christian summer camps. They call you a filthy fucking sinner with a smile. Or worse… They call you blessed, pure, <em>immaculate</em> while you’re fucking and then drag you out in front of the church to be stoned after the afterglow faded.</p><p>Luke would likely stick to smiles. Fucking Simeon might be worth being smited by God.</p><p>It had been two weeks since Belphegor had killed them, and Paymon still flinches every time he touches them. They try not to, they really do. But, when they close their eyes, they can still feel arms constricting around them, hear the sickening crunch of bones and squelch of the flesh. They would be happy to forget what Belphegor did to him, but their body wouldn’t let him.</p><p>Belphegor isn’t good at hiding his hurt, but he understands, for the most part… Or at least he’s accepted that trying to get Paymon alone was a fruitless endeavor. Beel is the most lenient chaperon he was going to find among his brothers.</p><p>Fine by them. Beel wouldn’t let anything happen to them. He had started to treat them as if they were the most fragile thing in hell. Which you were, but that was to be expected. Simple cuts and bruises weren’t anything new. On top of being a squishy human, Paymon was a reckless klutz.</p><p>It didn’t use to be a big deal, but now every little injury was treated like something life-threatening. Their joints were so well-plastered that they could barely bend them. It was a wonder the adhesive stuck with all the oils, lotions, and balms Asmo massaged into their skin.</p><p>Asmo had taken over their wardrobe, their hair- and skincare regimens, and their bathing routine. For being an avatar of lust, he was terrible at reading body language. Or maybe it was that he just wouldn’t take no for an answer… Always pushing boundaries until they broke.</p><p>At first the things he asked for were within reason. A kiss, a cuddle, a compliment… But for every inch given, Asmo took the whole wide world. Every weakness was exploited. Any hesitation, bulldozed.</p><p>The only brother who monopolized more of their time was, surprisingly, Satan. If Paymon’s time was a Monopoly board, Satan wanted to buy every property and build hotels on all of them. Long nights spent talking, studying, reading, reading, <em>reading</em>…</p><p>The last time Paymon read this much was the summer reading program of 2014, and that reading binge was fueled entirely by spite. (Suck my left nut, Sister Ellen!) Maybe he was trying to make up for how he never got to know Lilith? Everything came down to Lilith and the void left in her absence.</p><p>Still, they preferred the little two-person book club they had with Satan to Levi’s non-stop guilt tripping and endless reruns of animes that they wouldn’t give the time of day in the Mortal Realm.</p><p>(<em>I get it. You have better things to do than hang out with a worthless Otaku.</em> It’s not that. I just don’t watch to rewatch TSL again. <em>Yeah, right… TSL, the best show of all time, or me, a weird shut-in. But the show is definitely the problem.</em>)</p><p>Poor Mammon seems to have changed not as a result of the news about Lilith but rather his brothers’ behavior. He was the avatar of greed, and he was used to having Paymon to himself. They were the ‘Mons! Mammon was their first, and Paymon was his human.</p><p>Now he had a bad habit of grabbing at whatever he could and refusing to let go. He was more jealous than before, practically seething whenever he saw them out with one of his brothers. Most of his frustrations were directed towards others, but sometimes they ricocheted and hit Paymon… As if they would ever voluntarily read Wuthering Heights of all the books on God’s green earth or play paperweight in Luci’s Study.</p><p>Worst of all was Luci. Before he was strict but at least somewhat fair. So long as they looked and acted the part of a good little human exchange student when Diva was in the room, he left them to their own devises. But, if Luci seemed overprotective of his brother, his actions towards Paymon could only be interpreted as overbearing.</p><p>Paymon even caught him going through their D.D.D. What a shitshow that was… They didn’t know how much he saw, but it must have been enough. Now they were never let out of sight. If Luci couldn’t supervise them personally, they had an assigned babysitter.</p><p>Whenever they were in the same room, he could never keep his hands off them... Always fixing their hair, tugging at their clothes. It felt like they were never good enough, always in need of something in need of correction. There wasn’t love behind any of these gestures, but there was a measure of fondness, as if they were his favorite pet. Or his beloved baby sister.</p><p>The brothers seem to have just forgotten everything that happened before the big reveal. That Belphegor had killed them. That Paymon was their own person, not a reincarnation of Lilith due to some watery lineage.</p><p>“It’s just… It’s hard, you know?” Paymon finished, resting their chin in their hand, feeling exhausted.</p><p>“Sounds like you’re in a difficult position,” Solomon said after letting them throw up their feelings all over his bed, “Have you thought about making a pact with Belphegor? He’d probably accept. It’s obvious he wants to be closer to you.”</p><p>“Solomon, Belphegor killed me. He <em>killed</em> me. And you want me to offer my soul to the guy? No.” A jumble of unpleasant emotions rolled around in their gut at the mere suggestion. “There’s already gonna be one hell of a custody battle when I die. I don’t want him to have any visitation rights.”</p><p>“Here I thought you lost all sentiment surrounding your soul,” he teased. They had to in order to avoid an existential crisis after realizing they sold their soul to repay a debt that wasn’t even theirs... “Listen to me for a second. From my research, Belphegor is sadistic. If he decides to end your life, it will be a slow, painful process.”</p><p>“Thanks. It was.” Maybe Solomon’s ear was less sympathetic than Paymon originally thought.</p><p>“Let me finish,” he insisted, “If he ever made a move to hurt you again, you could use your pact to command him to stop.”</p><p>“… Or I could preempt an attack by telling him never to hurt me again?” That could end Paymon’s current nightmare of waiting for Belphegor to give up hope that they could ever be friends and attack.</p><p>Solomon shrugged one shoulder in reply and smiled mysteriously. “Vague, but it may get the job done. Either way, the threat is neutralized.”</p><p>“Huh…” Paymon hadn’t thought of that. Which was kind of embarrassing, considering it was as straightforward of a plan as any. Then again, they had never been one to take the easy route. “What if… What if I could go back?”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Solomon’s attention started to sway back to his work.</p><p>“What if I could return to my timeline? Y’know… Before…” With that innocent question, all of his attention suddenly snapped back to them. He frowned… He looked too young to have frown lines, but they were there all the same. “The brothers would be back to normal.  Belphegor would be behind bars.” They’d be safe and happy again.</p><p>“That’s… Inadvisable, and probably impossible. You said yourself that Barbatos merged the timelines.” Of course. No loose ends. But what if…? “Trying to travel to a timeline that no longer exists could leave you afloat in a void free of time and space.”</p><p>Paymon didn’t say anything in argument. There was nothing to say. Still, the idea was stuck in their head like a song on repeat. What if, what if, what if?</p><p>“Besides… Who else would talk my ear off while I write my Grimoire if you disappear to another time? It would be boring here without you.” It was an empty flattery, but it felt nice, nonetheless.</p><p>There was that smile again… Solomon smiled like a sphinx. The others could call Solomon a shady wizard every minute of every day. He still listened better than any of them. The fact that he was just as handsome was a nice plus.</p><p>“Oh, I almost forgot! I got you something.” Paymon army-crawled across the bed where their bookbag was leaning. After a bit of rummaging through loose pens and cheap electronics, they pulled out a rectangular parcel with a showy gesture. “Here, for you! Open it.”</p><p>Inside was a book on a minor field of study that Paymon could barely remember how to spell, much less say. Even with half a decade of speech therapy under their belt, it had taken an hour of back-and-forth with Satan to figure out what the hell Solomon had said and what Paymon was trying to say.</p><p>(Don’t laugh, you asshole! I have a speech impa- fuck, I mean, I have a speech di… I have- <em>You have a speech impediment?</em> Fuck you! It was on the tip of my tongue!)</p><p>It had taken an entire weekend of perfect behavior and playing assistant to Luci to earn enough Devil Points to buy it. Paymon used to have an unlimited charge card that RAD paid off every month… Before they bought ten drones, fitted them with metal spikes and spinning blades, programmed them to barrel towards people’s heads, and unleashed them on the quad.</p><p>While Diva was amused at their efforts to jump-start the robot uprising, Luci was not. Now Paymon had to earn individual Devil Points by completing tasks and “not disgracing Lord Diavolo.”</p><p>It was worth it, though, seeing how Solomon’s eyes lit up when he pulled the book from its brown paper wrapping.</p><p>“Is this…” Solomon asked before flawlessly pronouncing the title in Ancient Greek. Paymon nodded, hoping it really was that so they would hopefully earn more brownie points. “Paymon, where… How did you get this?”</p><p>“I found it!”</p><p>“You just so happen to come across an ancient tome on the niche subject of magic I expressed interest in?” Solomon inquired, narrowing those pretty grey eyes.</p><p>“Yeah!” It wasn’t technically a lie. They happened to just come across it after searching through six different bookstores.</p><p>“And you decided to bring it to me, for no reason at all?”</p><p>“Yeah… It’s like a thank-you gift! Or whatever.” Or whatever? Stupid, stupid, stupid. They should have spent that time staring into his eyes thinking of a better reason to give him a gift.</p><p>Paymon has gotten spoiled by the brothers. They accepted all gifts with just a smile and a nod rather than suspicions about intentions. Paymon presented Beel with a painted rock once, just to see if he would refuse it. A painted. Rock. It was sitting on his headboard to this day.</p><p>“Paymon, I know what you’re doing.” Not looking good for the butterflies in Their stomach right now.</p><p>“Do you want me to stop?” He would, if asked. There was no use in trying to court Solomon if he didn’t want to be courted. If Solomon didn’t follow up his yes with a no homo, then it would be the second nicest rejection he had this year.</p><p>Their first week of classes, they approached Simeon with a bouquet of Mirage Flowers. That was hands-down the nicest rejection they ever received, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering it came from an angel.</p><p>They could have gone without Luke incoherently screaming the whole time, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.</p><p>“I didn’t say that. Carry on, if you wish.” Solomon answered thoughtfully, stroking the spine of the tome before carefully setting it on his desk, next to his own work-in-progress. Intimacy Level Up! Shit, they’d been spending too much time around Levi.</p><p>“Can I sleep over tonight? I didn’t exactly get Luci’s approval for this ‘visitation,’” Paymon quoted, hiding their hesitant excitement behind humor, “and I’m not in the mood for another hour-long lecture.”</p><p>Solomon could obviously see right through them, but he took pity. “Sure. Just no funny business.” Then, on a more serious note, he added, “Whenever things get tough in the House of Lamentations, just know that you’re always welcome in Purgatory Hall.”</p><p>Well, if time travel didn’t work out, there was always Purgatory Hall.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>